Tag Archive for 'animation'

Akira

Published
by
James McNally
on June 20, 2007
in DVD
. Closed

Akira

Akira (Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo, Japan, 1988): Ok, I know I’m not going to be able to do this film justice. It’s tough when you put something into the DVD player at 10:00pm. Sometimes a long movie just feels longer when it’s after midnight and you’re lying horizontally on the couch. Like many Japanese anime, Akira was based on a longer manga series, which may explain why there seemed to be a lot of plot jumps that force you to fill things in on your own. When the film was released in 1988, the animation was considered cutting-edge, and although there has been a lot of innovation in the almost twenty years since, the film’s visuals still have the ability to amaze.

Set in 2019, more than thirty years after World War III has destroyed the old city of Tokyo, the film tells a complicated story of a secret government project designed to develop powerful psychic powers in children. When Tetsuo, a young member of a biker gang, stumbles across one of the escaped children, he is abducted by shadowy military forces and subjected to experiments which unleash his latent psychic powers. His friend Kaneda becomes involved when he tries to rescue Tetsuo and by the end of the film’s 124 minutes, there is a lot of carnage and general mayhem.

I’ll have to admit that I found the plot confusing, and the film overlong. In general, I’ve found anime’s plots fairly predictable (while at the same time maddeningly vague), and Akira may have set the standard. Having recently reviewed Paprika, though, I found that a few of Akira’s scenes were just as spectacular, and I suspect that most anime have borrowed from Akira in some way or another over the years. For a film that’s almost twenty years old, the animation still feels fresh and in a world of CGI and twenty years of copycat films, that’s quite an accomplishment.

I know this film has a lot of dedicated fans, so I’m hoping some of you will chime in with some insights in the comments.

8/10(8/10)

WWSFF: Opening Night Gala Programme

Published
by
James McNally
on June 12, 2007
in Film Festivals
. Closed

The Danish Poet
The Danish Poet

Tonight’s programme consisted of award-winning shorts released in 2006, and just watching them one after another led me to a few conclusions about short films in general. To compare them to written works, they’re a bit like poems to a feature film’s novel. And to compare to spoken word, they’re like jokes as opposed to sagas. With such a short amount of time, they need to make their points quickly, so there is often a high “cleverness” factor and the endings often feel like the punch line of a joke. This can work well, but a film that stands out is one that doesn’t make these tropes so obvious. Here, in my order of enjoyment, are tonight’s selections:

  • The Danish Poet (Canada/Norway, 2006): With lovely narration from Liv Ullmann, this story felt the most organic and the least gimmicky. Even though there is a sort of punchline “payoff” at the end, it’s telegraphed early enough to set us down gently. The whimsical animation style and always-great use of animated (but non-speaking) animals made this a worthy Oscar-winner this year. Check out the film’s web site. (9/10)
  • Dreams and Desires - Family Ties (UK, 2006): Another animated short, this one cleverly used animated sketches to simulate a wedding video filmed by the oddly cinephilic Beryl, a large woman of grandmotherly vintage. Her attempts to film the disastrous occasion in the styles of famous directors from Eistenstein to Riefenstahl, all the while keeping up a steady stream-of-consciousness narration, keeps this one rollicking along, despite the nearly impenetrable accents. (9/10)
  • Tanghi Argentini (Belgium, 2006): This is a charming tale of an office drone who just might be an angel. André needs to learn to tango in two weeks so he can meet his Internet crush, so he turns to his colleague Frans to help teach him to dance. Will love bloom? (8/10)
  • Contact (Raak) (Netherlands, 2006): Three characters paths cross again and again in this cleverly-edited short. There’s that word “clever” again. (7/10)
  • The Substitute (Il Supplente) (Italy, 2006): A class of high-school students is terrorized by a Scott Thompson (ex-Kids in the Hall) lookalike, who then gets his comeuppance. Funny in an odd sort of way. (7/10)
  • Make A Wish (Atmenah) (USA, 2006): A straightforward, almost documentary-like tale of a young girl who will go to any lengths to get a special birthday cake. Only it’s set in the West Bank. The filmmaking is pretty rudimentary and there’s a bit of a (tragic) punchline at the end. (6/10)
  • Imagine This (Australia/Ireland, 2006): Sometimes a short should also be a “small.” Using found internet footage to make George W. Bush “sing” John Lennon’s “Imagine” was a pretty funny idea. But it really shouldn’t have made it off the YouTube site. (5/10)

Paprika

Published
by
James McNally
on June 4, 2007
in Theatrical Release
. 5 Comments

Paprika

Paprika (Director: Satoshi Kon, Japan, 2006): I’m not really a genuine otaku nor do I aspire to be, but I do have a little bit of experience with Japanese anime, including the films of Hiyao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro) and the excellent sci-fi series Ergo Proxy. So I don’t claim to know or understand all of the conventions of Japanese animation. With that disclaimer out of the way, I can honestly say that Paprika (or “Papurika” which is the Japanese title) is quite a trip. Like many anime, the plot is tricky, but the visuals are absolutely eye-popping. The fact that the film is based on a well-known and popular novel by Japanese sci-fi master Yasutaka Tsutsui led to high expectations among Japanese audiences, who have received the film enthusiastically.

Paprika

The press kit synopsis: “Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a genius scientist by day, and a kick-ass dream warrior named PAPRIKA by night. In this psychedelic sci-fi adventure, it will take the skills of both women to save the world. In the near future, a revolutionary new psychotherapy treatment called PT has been invented. Through a device called the “DC Mini” it is able to act as a “dream detective” to enter into people’s dreams and explore their unconscious thoughts. Before the government can pass a bill authorizing the use of such advanced psychiatric technology, one of the prototypes is stolen, sending the research facility into an uproar. In the wrong hands, the potential misuse of the device could be devastating, allowing the user to completely annihilate a dreamer’s personality while they are asleep. Renowned scientist, Dr. Atsuko Chiba, enters the dream world under her exotic alter-ego, code name “PAPRIKA,” in an attempt to discover who is behind the plot to undermine the new invention.”

Paprika is like Dr. Chiba’s subconscious self, or her id, flirty and pixieish, but she is able to do things the uptight Dr. Chiba can’t do. It’s funny that later in the film, Paprika refers to herself as “the missing spice.” With the help of police detective Konakawa and the device’s inventor, the food-loving Dr. Tokita, this Spice Girl will make the world safe again.

Though the plot is almost ridiculously complex, it’s a very fun ride, just to see what the animators can come up with next. Some of the film’s most memorable images wouldn’t be out of place in the off-kilter world of videogame Katamari Damacy. Along with the visuals, the jaunty electronic score adds to the cool factor, making Paprika a sort of Spirited Away for grownups.

The film opens in limited release in Toronto on June 15th.

Official site for the film

8/10(8/10)

TMNT

Published
by
Jay Kerr
on March 27, 2007
in Theatrical Release
. Closed
TMNT

TMNT (Director: Kevin Munroe, USA/Hong Kong, 2007): If you’re over the age of ten, you might not know that TMNT stands for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you’re under the age of ten, you might not know that TMNT was the top weekend flick with $25.45 million in ticket sales.

I found myself sitting in the a theatre with my 7-year-old son Daniel, waiting for TMNT to start. Like most 7-year-olds, he has a fascination with ninja turtles. I don’t. All I could think about were the really bad one-star reviews I had read about the film.

By the time the credits rolled, I was relieved. The movie wasn’t that bad. It’s basically a 3D version of the TV show but with really good production values. The animation by Imagi Entertainment is impressive and gave me something to admire while the turtles ate pizza and bickered.

The animation and the rendering don’t live up to Pixar standards, but so what. A 7-year-old kid isn’t going to notice or care about how realistic the fabrics are rendered or if the inverse-kinematics in the character animation is incredibly realistic.

It made me wonder who Pixar is really making their incredible films for. Why not crank out a bunch of mediocre movies like everyone else? Why raise the 3D bar with every film? The kids won’t care or really notice so long as the story is solid. Will they?

I tried to get Daniel to write a review but he thought that would be too boring. So I asked him what he thought about the film. “It was good” was the only response I could get at first. I asked him what he hated about the film and he responded with, “the long talking parts.” Hmm, okay.

I asked which movie he thought was better, Superman Returns or TMNT. I was sure he would pick Superman Returns but he quickly replied with, “TMNT. It had way more action.” My shoulders slumped forward and my chin collapsed into my chest. When I recovered, Daniel asked me if we could get the TMNT video game for PS2.

Official Film Site
Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Site